Now for the deep question; Which item goes on the 2002 and which goes on the Mazda3?

And I love the TTAC gear. My suggestions:
– Travel mug – low end (price conscious, maybe a set of two)
– Travel mug – high end (stainless steal, high margin)
– Golf Balls (again, both low and high end: Titleist NXT & Titleist Pro V1, or Nike Mojo and Nike One)

And thank you for the return of the “classic” view!

Do you really think we should go there?

1. We are a small group of enthusiasts publishing on the Internet in our spare time.

2. They are multi-national corporations with thousands of full time employees in Marketing/PR, some of which draw huge salaries.

Yes, I think we can do what we do and criticize Detroit for doing the same.

Thanks, this is gonna be fun!

I’ve sent you the guidelines. Anyone else who wants them should email frank.williams@thetruthaboutcars.com.

Frank will give you the inside dope on which cars we need reviewed. In general, with certain caveats, rentals are OK.

Never mind about writing quality. As I said in the previous comment, passion is the key. The writing process is collaborative; I’ll make sure the prose is angry and snarky enough to piss off the likes of jthorner.

jthorner:

Correct: being angry and snarky is not the same as telling the truth. But you're comparing apples and oranges: style and message.  

One can tell the truth in a variety of different styles. As the post above states, we're catholics in that regard. If you (or anyone else) wants to tell the truth in your own inimitable fashion, you are most welcome to do so right here, right now.

That said, yes, there is a TTAC house style. I make no apologies for that. If you think there's too much anger therein, well, fair enough. But it is my firmly held belief that intellect is nothing without passion, and vice versa. I'd rather our content be angry than boring.

As for car shopping, again, you're right: there is more buying information at Consumer Reports and other automotive websites than at TTAC. (At least at the moment.)

So? We have a different mission: to provide our readers with a look at the "soul of a new machine." Whether we succeed or fail, in your mind or others, that is our goal.

As for "desperate editorials begging readers to help bring in more money," I don't see it that way. I'm inviting readers to "invest" in our progress– and get some branded goods!

Whether they do so or not is their personal choice. There is no "guilt trip" involved. Anyone who prefers to hang onto their hard-earned cash or read a different website– and it sounds like you fall soundly into that category– is free to do so.

At the end of the day, we're no different to Detroit. We stand or fall on the quality of our product. Which is exactly how it should be.

All I’m looking for is a general format FAQ type thing. Before right now, I didn’t know the finder’s fee was $50. I’m assuming it’s still an 800 word limit, right?

For me, all I can review is crappy rental cars I get for work, does that pass muster? What if my temporary chariot is the latest generation, but a year or two old?

Anyway, I’d like to try my hand at writing something. So what do I do next?

Desperate editorials begging readers to help bring in more money are also not exactly a top drawer marketing technique. Don’t you criticize Detroit automakers for guilt tripping customers into buying their “American” products instead of having the product proudly stand on it’s own?

Be careful what you ask for. I just emailed you a copy of the Writers’ Guidelines.

Oh… and as for benefits:

Health care plan – Our utmost sympathy when you’re sick
Pension plan – Whatever interest your bank pays on whatever you save from the $50/article
Overtime policy – We’re in favor of it (overtime)
Coffee allotment – As much as your $50/article will buy at Starbucks

Unfortunately, that’s an item CafePress doesn’t offer (yet). I’ve put in a request for car tags, plus travel mugs and key chains. I don’t how responsive they are, but hopefully they’ll add them soon.

Brilliant!

Also, I’m not sure that Latin was the right choice for the motto. I guess if your goal was to have people have to ask the purchaser what it means as to give said purchaser an opportunity to tell them about the site, then I guess that’s kick ass… but still kind of lame, if you ask me.
I believe something funny/catchy/memorable would have served you better… or even something inflamatory… like ‘Your car mag blows’.

Perhaps this would be a good topic for user suggestions/voting/etc.

I recommended this site to a guy who runs the swap meet in Reno, during Hot August Nights. He reported that he found it “hard to navigate.”

It might be a good idea to reconsider how things are indexed; and to index the past editorials, according to topic, in a manner similar to how the reviews are archived under make.

The poster who mentioned a window sticker is correct. One that might read thus:

TTAC: the best place on the web to find out the truth about any car you want.

In truth, I read your site because it is not about the corporate PR one finds in paper ‘zines, but represents a variety of real-world opinions about cars written by people who obviously enjoy them. I think that a reader section, beyond the individual replies to specific reviews, could be cultivated into a real voice of the car-knowledgeable community. And somehow, it would be nice to think that there is someone at the various manufacturers who will listen to these voices. All of us, because of our obsession with things vehicular, are I’m sure frequently asked for opinions by our friends, colleagues and neighbors about “What car should I buy?”

Much as I like enthusiast cars, it is apparent to me that the “right” answer for many people does not need to be a car that I would buy, but one which is suitable for their needs and their personal likes. An excellent French mechanic I know told me recently that, as much as he loves the character of european cars, he frequently tells customers who solicit his opinion that they should just go to the Toyota store and find a model which does what they need. He says this not because he thinks that Toyota meets the needs of everyone, but because many folks are just looking for reliable transportation that works well, and Toyota has done an excellent job of meeting this need.

So opinions about cars should be written to highlight those things that a particular car does well, as well as those things which it does not do well. As much as I love my recently acquired BMW 335i, I have friends who find the latest in electronics a far higher priority than I, and for these people an Acura, Infiniti or Lexus is likely a better choice.

You have obviously struck a chord among the enthusiast community, and I think that soliciting longer opinions from your readers (“rants” if you will) will make the site even more vital and more pertinent to the car business.

Most of all, I think most of us secretly hope that GM or Ford or Chrysler will actually figure out that passion, and not accounting, makes for great cars. And that as much as the advertising types may dislike the idea, the American public is interested in finding the best product for the job, and not simply to buy what marketing tells them they should buy.

As the Aussies say, Goodonyamate!

Although I’ve already purchased a bumper sticker with the license plate logo, I’m awaiting t-shirts and other merchandise with the Classic typeface, please: Avant Garde Demibold.

BTW, TTAC is up to number 3 in Google rankings, but is stuck there behind the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium and a Virginia state education training program. The phrase “TTAC” permanently on the home page somewhere instead of in a review or editorial might help, any webheads know better how to goose Google rankings without getting the smackdown?

“The Truth, And Nothing But The Truth.”

I’m not all that fond of fiction works anymore, personally ;)

Someone outside of the RenCen could make it happen. Or at least give it a shot.

And do I actually have to point this out, but a keychain?

Thanks for adding this.